Lucy turned over and looked at the half running Raymond behind her. "Hurry up! It's not even a 100 meters and yet you are panting already." She shooked her head left and right before hooking her arm over to Mike.
She was smiling brightly without the trace of gloominess in her.
"Come on, let us go and eat first." Mike played along with Lucy.
If she wanted to be friendly like this, he got no reason to reject her gesture.
Raymond was panting slightly as he stood alongside the couple. "What, since when are you guys so close together? Did I missed something?" Raymond grinned sheepishly, beaming at Lucy.
Lucy bumped her arm at Raymond's waist while frowning her brows. "What close together? We are all friends! Pfft, just look at us, ok?" Lucy's eyes were sizing Mike up and down before she removes her linkage arm from Mike and walk forward alone.
"What's wrong with that? You guys look compatible!"
Lucy rolled her eyes at Raymond. "Ridiculous!"
Mike smiled bitterly after he heard Lucy's reply. He too, understands that they must look like a joke if they were to get together, but somehow, deep inside he could not help feeling hurt from Lucy's word.
"Hmm, are you trying to say that I am too old for you?" Mike asked Lucy nonchalantly as if the question did not bore any weight to him at all.
Lucy halted her steps and turned around to face Mike. "Are you kidding me? Look at you, and look at me. My age is double of yours!"
Raymond patted Mike's shoulder and he said his agreement. "Yeah, if you were both got together, our renowned scientist reputation here will be sullied. You will be labeled as someone's sugar daddy instead. Hahaha... good thing that you guys did not have any feelings for each other."
With that, Raymond walked away leaving Mike feeling sour.
'Yeah, I will look ridiculous to other people's eyes if we were to get together.'
------------
Inside a large swimming pool area, Raymond and Lucy were standing side by side. Both of them were in similar swimming attire and they were getting ready for their water survival training.
Raymond stared at the silver chain necklace with a small red gemstone that Lucy has been wearing. The catchy and unique design intrigued Raymond's curiosity.
"Lucy, I have been meaning to ask you for quite some time already."
"What is it?"
"That necklace of yours... The design is so unique. And that gemstone, is it color shifting?"
Lucy peered down to her chest. "Oh, you mean this necklace? This is a gift from my maternal grandfather to all of my siblings. The design is of the Lu emblem. Unique isn't it?" Lucy smiled when she thinks of her grandfather.
"Yeah, very unique. Especially that gemstone. Sometimes I have been wondering if my eyes played a trick on me or not. At times, the gemstone was colored purplish-red, at times it looks greenish-blue... and right now, it looks a little bit blackish?" Raymond almost leaned over to Lucy's neck as he concentrates his gaze on the tiny gemstone of the necklace.
Lucy pushed away Raymond's face from her chest and she moved away a couple of steps back. She frowned her face as she found Raymond's action to be overly intimate. "Don't get so close to me!"
Raymond straightened his posture and he composed himself as he apologized to Lucy. "Well, can you tell me what kind of gemstone is that? Lu emblem? Is that gemstone from China?"
"I don't know about the gemstone. But, my grandfather told me to never remove them... Probably it is really expensive. Hehe... Although I found it very beautiful, but sometimes I do remove them from time to time and I noticed the color-changing properties as well. Hmm... I asked my mother what kind of stone this is, she only said it is founded by grandfather's father around hundred years back, and it is very precious." Lucy beamed with pride when she mentioned about the origins of the gemstone.
Raymond darted his eyes over to the gemstone again. "So you do not know what kind of gemstone it is?"
Lucy shrugged her shoulder before she replied nonchalantly. "Who knows... I googled for color changing gemstone, and mine is similar to the Alexandrite gemstones properties. They said it is much more expensive than the diamond itself. But hey, probably it is synthetic since my Lu family back in China is not someone who is super rich and all. If they have something as expensive as the Alexandrite gemstone, they probably treasure them very much instead of making it a jewelry for all of us..."
Raymond nodded his head in agreement while his eyes were still fixed on the tiny gemstone on Lucy's neck. "Yeah, you probably are right..."
As Raymond stared at the stone again, it seems like the stone was blinking a red light a few times. He rubbed his eyes a few times and he looked over again.
The stone has turned back to the reddish color again.
"That's weird... I thought I saw it blinking!" Raymond exclaimed.
"Pfft, enough with my necklace. Concentrate on the lesson. If we were to be stranded on the ocean once we landed, this lesson today could save our lives!" Lucy chided Raymond's action.
"Oh well. Whatever."
With that, Raymond turned his head and faced the instructors who are inside the pool who is demonstrating how the escape mechanism functions.
------------------
"Did you get the recording? Remember, Old Lu wants to see who is around his precious grandchildren." The gaudy looking man walked towards the table and pointed his finger at the huge monitor in front of him.
On the monitor, the face of Raymond Yu was frozen along with the pool background.
A sheepish young man with spectacles came forward and bowed 90 degrees at the gaudy looking man as he reported the situation. "Yes, young master. We have secured the recording."
The young man straightened his body back in an upright manner as if he is proud of completing his job.
The gaudy looking man shifted his eyes and gave out a cold stare at the monitor.
As if on queue, the young man quickly explains who is on the screen.
"That young man is Raymond Yu, Young miss Lucy's friend that she met during her stays inside the bunker in Alaska. There is nothing fishy about the young man, neither do all of the space traveler candidates and instructors."
The gaudy looking man who was addressed as a young master nodded his head in contemplation. "If by any way young miss lives are in danger, you know what to do?"
The man's voice was so cold and domineering that the sheepish young man cowers his head lower as he quickly bowed his body into the 90 degrees position again. "Yes! I know what to do. Don't worry young master. I will perform my duty well. Young miss safety will always be my priority!"
"Good. Don't disappoint me." The young master tapped his subordinate shoulder a few times loudly until the man let out a soft moan of pain.
"If the young miss is harmed even slightly again, you will receive your punishment."
The gaudy looking man's face paled even more at the remark. "Yes, I understand. I will not repeat my mistakes!"
With that, the young master sauntered through the room as he observed the futuristic high tech equipment inside it. Picking up a normal-looking wristwatch, he peered at the still bowing young man. "Is the preparation ready?"
"Yes, Young Master. Young Miss Suzy is all well and she is ready for the final testing." The young man braced himself as he stood up straight after he heard the young master's voice did not have a distinct cold aura anymore.
"Young master, may I asked a few questions? Why, is it young miss Lucy was not brought here together with Madam and Young Miss Suzy? It is much safer here compared to the outside world." The young man seems to have forgotten the terrifying aura the young master has given off earlier as he blurted out a few questions at once.
The young master stares at the man for a few seconds without speaking as if he is enraged by his subordinate rudeness.
Several seconds passed, the young man felt something was off with his young master's reaction.
He quickly changed back to his earlier demeanor of a sheepish young man and he quickly bowed and apologize over and over again for going over the line.
"Well, you should remember to not do it again. Otherwise..."
"Yes, I understand young master!"
"Good." The young master walked out of the room without glancing the subordinates in the room anymore.
As soon as he was gone, the sheepish young man collapsed on the floor with his face drenched with sweat. His face was pale white almost corpse-like.
If it were a normal man to face the young master terrifying aura, they would have internal injuries in an instant.
The aura was so terrifying that he almost peed his pants!
"You have gone out of line Liwei. You know how harsh young master is, and yet you dare to question his decision..."